“She was so happy,” friend Kim Meloy said. “She was over the moon at her wedding. I just think of her as a happy, beautiful person.”

Grazioli allegedly shot his wife with a handgun that he purchased a month ago while she was in bed.

According to the Erie Times-News, police began investigating last Thursday after Grazioli's ex-wife called police and said her husband told her he had killed his current wife and was suicidal.

The man then drove to St. Peter Cathedral in Erie, where he found Roman Catholic priest Rev. Michael Polinek.

“He was a little distraught and, after a moment, he pretty much just said 'I need to tell you that I killed my wife and I am going to go home and kill myself,'” said Polinek. “After a little while, I was able to convince him for the sake of the rest of his family and other people that it would be a good idea to call the police — 911.″

Polinek said he coordinated with police dispatchers to peacefully bring Grazioli into custody.

“I called 911 and they said, ‘Does he have a weapon?’ He shook his head that he did. I said, ‘Where is it?’ I believe he said ‘It’s in my coat.’ I said, ‘Why don’t we take your coat," he recalled.

Police were soon able to arrest Grazioli without incident.

Catholic priests are legally protected from reporting about sins heard during confession, but the conversation reportedly took place in the rectory and Grazioli never asked to receive the sacrament of confession.

Arrest records state that police found Amanda Grazioli's body and a signed, handwritten note at the Grazioli home. The suspect reportedly confessed to killing his wife and wrote, “sorry for all of this."

Police have not detailed a motive for the killing, but reports indicate the suspect was in a custody battle with his ex-wife and that his current wife was set to testify in that case before she was killed.